
Class. 



Book 



THE BEQUEST OF 
DANIEL MURRAY 

WASHINGTON. D. C. 
1925 



/ 






11 



FIRST 



ANNUAL REPORT 



EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION 



FOR FREEDMEN 



WITH EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS OP TEACHERS AND 
SUPERINTENDENTS. 



BOSTON : 

DAVID CLAPP, PRINTER 334 WASHINGTON STREET. 

1863. 



i^ 



The bequest of 

Daniel Murray, 

Washington, D, €« 

1925. 



REPORT. 



In this, our First Report, it is proper to give a sketch of the history 
of our Commission. The name hardly indicates the whole ground 
over which our operations have been extended. At the outset it was 
supposed that the most we should be called upon or allowed to do, 
would be to send a few missionaries and teachers to teach the rudi- 
ments of education, and while we then saw the great importance of 
organizing industry and bringing order out of the chaos at Port Royal, 
we little thought that means could be obtained, or authority granted 
by the Government to assume the entire charge of the agriculture, 
education, and to a certain extent, the religious teaching of the freed- 
men of Port Royal ; but such has been the result, and we have the 
satisfactory statement from General Saxton, that the fixed population 
within our lines upon the Sea Islands, is now a self-sustaining and 
industrious community. 

The first regular meeting for the formation of this Society was held 
at the house of the Rev. J. M. Manning, on Tuesday, Feb. 4th, 1862, 
in pursuance of the following notice, an informal meeting having been 
held a few days previous, at which a committee was appointed. 

Boston, February 1, 1862. 
The undersigned were appointed a committee to bring to your no- 
tice a letter recently received in this city from E. L. Pierce, Esq., 
Agent of the United States Government for the "Contrabands" at 
Port Royal. In that letter the writer urges the importance of imme- 
diately sending out teachers for the eight thousand unfortunate human 
^y beings now within the lines of our army in South Carolina. 

You are earnestly invited to attend, with any friend who may be 
interested, a meeting for the consideration of the subject, to be held 
^lit the Rev. Mr. Manning's house, 9 Boylston Place, Feb. 4th, at 4 
o'clock, P.M. 



8 



The letter above alluded to, was published in the Transcript, Jan. 
21th, and it will be read at the meeting. 
Signed, 

C. F. Barnard. Mrs. Cabot. 

C. A. Bartol. Edward E. Hale. 

Mrs. Bartol. Emily P. Hale. 

H. I. Bowditch. Wm. B. Rogers. 

Samuel Cabot, Jr. Mrs. Rogers. 

The meeting was organized by the choice of Rev. Edward E. Hale, 
as Chairman, and Edward Atkinson, as Secretary. 

Mr. Pierce's letter was then read by Rev. Mr. Manning, and a com- 
mittee was appointed to prepare a plan of organization, and to nomi- 
nate officers, to report at an adjourned meeting. 

The adjourned meeting was held at the rooms of the Young Men's 
Christian Union, on Friday, Feb. 1th, at 4 o'clock, p.m., when the fol- 
lowing Constitution was adopted. 

CONSTITUTION OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION. 

This organization shall be called the Educational Commission. 

I. The object of the Educational Commission shall be the indus- 
trial, social, intellectual, moral, and religious improvement of persons 
released from slavery in the course of the war for the Union. 

II. The Educational Commission will employ as its laborers per- 
sons of undoubted loyalty to the Federal Government, who shall not 
permit their work to interfere with the proper discipline and regula- 
tion of the camps ; and it will expect and gratefully welcome any 
facilities which the Government may be pleased to grant ; such as 
passes for teachers and supplies, and rations and due protection for 
said teachers while engaged in their work. 

III. The officers of the Educational Commission shall be a Presi- 
dent, two or more Vice Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a 
General Committee. 

IV. It shall be the duty of the President, Vice Presidents, Secre- 
tary, and Treasurer, severally, to perform the service indicated by 
their titles, and usually devolving on such officer. They shall be 
members, ex officio, of the General Committee. The Treasurer shall 
be, ex officio, a member of the Finance Committee. He shall give 
such bonds as may be required by the General Committee. 

V. In addition to the above-named ex officio members, the Genera] 
Committee shall be composed of four Business Committees : — a Cc*ii- 



mittce on Correspondence, a Committee on Finance, a Committee on 
Touchers, and a Committee on Clothing- and Supplies. 

VI. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Correspondence to 
confer with the Government, and with the accredited agents and offi- 
cers of the Government in places to which the Commission may send 
its laborers ; and also to endeavor, by such means as shall be deemed 
proper, to produce a wide-spread interest and secure a general coope- 
ration in the work undertaken. 

VII. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Finance to procure 
funds for the general objects of the Commission ; all moneys, together 
with the names of the donors, to be placed in the hands of the Trea- 
surer, who shall keep an account with each Business Committee, and 
report as required by the General Committee. 

VIII. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Teachers to select 
' and supervise the persons sent out by the Commission, and to provide 

them with suitable apparatus of instruction. 

IX. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Clothing to provide 
and forward garments and other articles necessary for the physical 
comfort of those whom the Commission is seeking to benefit ; which 
supplies shall be distributed by the teachers, under such supervision 
as the Committee may designate. 

X. The Business Committees shall each meet as often as the duties 
severally assigned them may require ; they shall keep a record of their 
doings, and report to the Secretary of the Commission as the General 
Committee may require ; they shall, in no instance, be composed of 
less than five persons ; and a majority of any Committee shall be a 
quorum. 

XI. The General Committee shall hold a meeting at least once 
each month, at which meeting it shall appropriate such funds as may 
be at the command of the Commission to the use of the several Busi- 
ness Committees, and all bills incurred by the Business Committees 
shall be approved by the chairmen thereof before they are paid by the 
Treasurer. The General Committee, which shall be an advisory body 
for the Business Committees, shall also call special meetings at the 
request of any Business Committee, and its sense shall determine the 
course of action in all doubtful cases. The duty of filling vacancies 
for the time being, arranging for public meetings, and all other duties 
not specially assigned, shall devolve on the General Coramitiee. 

XII. The Educational Commission shall hold an Annual Meeting, 
at such time and place as the General Committee may appoint ; to 
hear reports, elect officers, and transact such other business as may 
come before it. The following shall be the mode of election, unless 
otherwise specially ordered. The President of the meeting shall ap- 
point a Nominating Committee of not less than seven persons, and 



the nominations of said Committee shall he voted upon at a single 
ballot. The members of the Commission present at the Annual Meet- 
ing shall he a quorum, and this rule shall apply to any special meet- 
ings called by the General Committee. 

XIII. Any person may be a member of the Educational Commis- 
sion by a cash contribution to its funds of not less than five dollars 
annually. 

XIV. This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote, at 
any regular meeting of the Commission, provided the motion to amend 
has been presented in writing at a previous meeting. 

The Committee then reported the following names for officers for 
the year ensuing, and thereupon they were unanimously chosen. 

F F I C E E S . 

President, His Excellency, John A. Andrew. 



Rev. Jacob M. Manning, 
Rev. Edward E. Hale. 
Rev. F. D. Huntington, D.D 
Rev. T. B. Thayer. 



Vice Presidents. 

Rev. J. W. Parker, D.D. 
Rev. James Freeman Clarke. 
Hon. Jacob Sleeper. 
Dr. Robert W. Hooper. 



Treasurer, Mr. William Endicott, Jr. 
Secretary, Mr. Edward Atkinson. 



Committee on Teachers. 



Mr. George B. Emerson. 
Dr. LeBaron Russell. 
Mr. Loring Lothrop. 



Rev. Charles F. Barnard. 

Mrs. Anna Lowell. 

Miss Hannah E. Stevenson. 



Mrs. Samuel Cabot, Jr. 
Mr. George Atkinson. 
Mr. Edward Jackson. 



Committee on Clothing. 

Mrs. J. A. Lane. 

Mrs. William B. Rogers. 



Mr. Edward Atkinson. 
Mr. Martin Brimmer. 
Mr. William Endicott, Jr 



Committee on Finance. 

Mr. James T. Fisher. 
Mr. William I. Bowditch. 



Committee on Correspondence. 



Dr. Henry I. Bowditch. 
Prof. F. J. Child. 
Dr. Samuel Cabot, Jr. 



Miss Ellen Jackson. 
Miss Anna Loring. 



The several Business Committees immediately entered upon their 
duties, and on the third of March, 1862, less than four weeks from 
the organization of the Commission, thirty-one efficient teachers and 
superintendents sailed from New York for Port Royal. 

The further doings of the Commission are so fully stated in the 
Reports of the several Committees, that but little is left for the Sec- 
retary to report upon. 

Our first efforts to obtain subscriptions, to procure suitable teach- 
ers and superintendents, and to secure the aid and protection of the 
Government, as we have before stated, met with more success than we 
expected, and now that the field open to us is larger, and the demand 
for teachers, superintendents and supplies greater than ever before, 
we earnestly hope that the appeal of the Finance Committee will be 
met by a renewal of subscriptions from those who rendered us such 
generous aid last year, and also from those who have not yet been 
int3rested in our undertaking. 

Greater facilities having been given us at Port Royal than else- 
where, our principal efforts have been turned in that direction, where 
from first to last, about eighteen thousand freed men, women and 
children, have come under the charge of our teachers and superin- 
tendents, and of those sent out by the New York and Philadelphia 
Societies. Mr. Pierce estimates that about three thousand children 
have been taught in our schools, for a longer or shorter period. 

The official report of General Saxton not filing been published, 
and the Superintendents of Plantations having ceased to report in 
detail to the Commission after they entered the service of the Govern- 
ment, we are unable to give the exact results of the cultivation of 
the plantations, but we have reason to believe that full crops of grain 
were raised, sufficient to support the entire population within our 
lines upon the Sea Islands until the next harvest, and alsq a sufficient 
amount of cotton, with that gathered from the crop of the previous 
year, to pay all the expenses of the Government incurred for the freed- 
men at that point. 

The success of one of our superintendents/ in conducting two of 
the largest plantations for the Government, was so great, that he has> 
in connection with some friends at the north, purchased eleven plan- 
tations, comprising about 8,000 acres, and is carrying them on this 
season by means of the old men, the women, and the children, most 
of the young and able-bodied men being now enlisted in the army of 
the United States. We are fortunate in having had among our super- 
intendents, one of sufficient means to enable him to undertake this 
operation on business principles, with strict justice, and fair, honest 
treatment of the freedmen. 

It is intended to sell a large portion of the plantations thus pur. 



8 

chased, to the freedmen at cost, as fast as they shall prove, by indus- 
try and frugality, that such a course will be beneficial to them. 

Several plantations, amounting in all to about two thousand acres, 
were purchased by the freedmen themselves, at the Government sale 
for taxes, they having combined the small savings of last season's 
work for that purpose ; and these freeholds are being cultivated this 
season, in corn and cotton, by these men who, less than two years 
since, were slaves without hope of deliverance, the most isolated, and 
consequently the most ignorant of their class. 

We still maintain our teachers at Port Royal, but our superintend- 
ents-have been taken into the employ of the Government. 

We have sent teachers to Craney Island and to Washington, and 
now have reason to hope that the same facilities will be granted us 
at Newbern which we have enjoyed at Port Royal. 

Upon a statement made by Mr. Yeatman, of St. Louis, as to the suf- 
fering condition of the freedmen in the West, a considerable amount 
of clothing and materials was sent there ; more than this the means 
at our command would not allow. 

From the statements recently received from the West, we have 
reason to believe that an entire reform has taken place in the treat- 
ment of the freedmen. They are now paid for their labor, and are 
eagerly sought for in all departments of the public service. A large 
number who were suffering very much at Cairo, have been removed 
to Island No. 10, and the plantations of that island assigned them 
for cultivation. 

Measures have been taken by us to induce the formation of societies 
like our own, in several of the principal cities of the West. 

The Reports of the several Committees are referred to for further 
details. 

The Commission has been under no expenses for salaries of officers, 
travelling expenses of several members of our Committees, or for 
storage and facilities for packing our supplies. 

EDWARD ATKINSON, Secretary. 
Boston, May 21, 1863. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON TEACHERS. 

Tiie first meeting of the Committee on Teachers was held on the 
8th of February, 1862. At this meeting the application was present- 
ed of Edward L. Pierce, Esq., Special Agent of the Treasury Depart- 
ment, asking for the appointment of teachers to act under his direc- 
tion, in the care and instruction of the freedmen at- Port Royal. Fre- 
quent meetings were held during the month of February, and a large 
number of applications were considered from persons desiring to go 
to Port Royal under the direction of the Commission. At one of 
these meetings Mr. Pierce was present, and read a letter from the 
Secretaiy of the Treasury, authorizing an allowance of "transporta- 
tion, subsistence and quarters," to those who should be appointed 
as agents or teachers by the societies of Boston, New York and Phila- 
delphia. After much deliberation, and some difficulty in making a 
selection, owing to the large number of candidates, thirty-one per- 
sons, of whom four were ladies, were chosen to proceed to Port 
Royal with Mr. Pierce, by the Atlantic, on the third of March. Two 
members of the Committee accompanied them to New York to make 
arrangements for their passage. 

Among the number were four volunteers, who served without any 
salary. The others were paid by the Commission, receiving salaries 
of from twenty-five to fifty dollars per month. The names of two 
gentlemen who had already left for Port Royal in anticipation of the 
action of the Committee, and of one who had gone as an independent 
teacher, were added to the list. 

The difficulties which the teachers experienced on their first arrival, 
and the various obstacles which they encountered and t successfully 
overcame, are described in their letters to the Committee, extracts 
from which have been published by the Commission. They found the 
blacks on the plantations of the Sea Islands deserted by their former 
masters, without control or guidance, and already beginning to feel 
the demoralizing influence of the neighborhood of the camps. No 
system or order had yet been introduced into their habits, or their 
methods of labor, and the life of dependence which they had so long 
led had unfitted^ them, for the time, with few exceptions, for independ- 
ent action on their own account. 

The teachers sent by the Commission arrived just in time to save 
the blacks from the worst consequences of this condition of things. 
2 



10 

Mr. Pierce, to whom the entire control and management of the plan- 
tations, and of the negroes living 1 upon them, had been committed by 
the Government, and to whose ability and discretion in the discharge 
of his difficult and delicate trust the favorable result is to be largely 
attributed, at once proceeded to assign to each of the teachers his 
special place and duties, and to apportion among them the care of the 
plantations and the people. They were directed to treat the blacks 
always with the greatest kindness and consideration ; to endeavor by 
all means to obtain their confidence and regard, and to look upon them 
as free men, entitled to every privilege and indulgence which it would 
be for their own best interest to allow to them. 

The teachers were settled as soon as possible upon the plantations, 
occupying the deserted mansions of their former owners, and began 
the work of the re-organization of labor under new auspices, the es- 
tablishment of schools, and the introduction of a new and better way 
of life for those under their charge. It was soon apparent, as had 
already been anticipated, that their first and most pressing duties 
were not to be those of teachers, in the usual acceptation o'f the word. 
The instruction most needed by the blacks was not in the knowledge 
of school books, but in that which should lead them to appreciate the 
advantages of civilized life, to relinquish the habits and customs of 
slavery, and to learn the duties and responsibilities of free men. Al- 
though schools were established on many plantations, and were highly 
prized and eagerly attended by old and young, yet the time and atten- 
tion required for those offices more strictly belonging to a superin- 
tendent left but little opportunity for school-teaching. The duties 
were, therefore, divided, some attending exclusively to the schools, 
the others, and far the larger part, devoting themselves to the general 
care of the plantations and the laborers. 

The letters of the teachers and superintendents received by the 
Committee were, from the first, highly encouraging. Their accounts 
of the character and disposition of the negroes of the Sea Islands 
were far more -favorable than was to have been expected. They found 
the blacks well disposed and tractable, easily guided and controlled 
by those in whom they have confidence, ready to work for wages 
without the stimulus of fear, eager and apt to learn. The desire ex- 
pressed by all to learn to read is mentioned by nearly every teacher, 
and this observation corresponds with the experience of others at 
Fortress Monroe, Newbern, and elsewhere. They prize every oppor- 
tunity for instruction, and the confidence inspired by' the establish- 
ment of schools is one of the chief means of influence and control 
over them. 

Each superintendent had the charge of from one to five plantations, 
according to their location, and the number of blacks upon them. 



11 

This gave to each the care of from two to five hundred negroes, who 
looked to him for instruction and direction, at all times, and in every 
department of their duties. The responsibility hereby devolving upon 
the superintendents was very great, and their labors were constant 
and engrossing. The industry, perseverance, and devotion with which 
they gave themselves to the work entitle them to the lasting gratitude 
of the Commission. Your Committee believe that the high character 
and eminent qualifications of this first company of pioneers in the 
work of educating and elevating the freedmen, have had a controlling 
influence in determining the successful results of the whole enterprise. 
Among them were many persons of education and refinement, of high 
standing in the community, and of experience and ability in their re- 
spective professions.. Most of them were led to offer their services, 
not from personal or pecuniary considerations, but from a deep inte- 
rest in the cause in which they had engaged. One of them, an emi- 
nent engineer, not only volunteered his own services, but made a- do- 
nation of $1,000 to the funds of the Commission. 

Before the arrival of Mr. Pierce with the teachers and superintend- 
ents, the negroes had already begun, in some parts of the islands, to 
plant patches of corn for their families, and to work upon them from 
time to time. But the uncertainty of their condition, and the want 
of proper direction and guidance, had rendered their work desultory 
and unsatisfactory. 

The first efforts of the superintendents were directed towards the 
introduction of regular and systematic labor on the plantations. This 
was accomplished by showing the negroes the necessity of working 
for their own support, and by promises of wages for their labor. The 
cultivation of corn and other provisions they were easily persuaded 
to undertake, as its necessity was manifest. But they showed more 
aversion to the culture of cotton, from which they could at first see 
no evident benefit to themselves. The promise of wages, however, 
even though small in amount, and irregularly paid, proved to be an 
efficient stimulus. The pride and pleasure with which they received 
their first instalment of wages, the only portion of their rightful earn- 
ings which had ever been allowed them, were among the most encou- 
raging indications for their future progress. This payment gave a 
new impulse to their exertions, and inspired them with new confidence 
in those who had come to take the place of their old masters. 

The full and exact results of their labors during the last season, 
with the precise amount of the cotton, corn, and other products rais- 
ed, have not yet been received by your Committee. It is, however, 
believed that although the preparation of the land did not begin till 
several months after the usual period, on which account the crop of 
cotton was reduced to perhaps less than one-quarter of what it would 



12 

otherwise have been, and that of the corn and other products was es- 
sentially diminished, yet the provisions raised by the blacks were 
more than sufficient for their own support during the season, without 
reckoning 1 the value of the proceeds of the cotton crop. 

This result is the more encouraging- when it is considered that the 
crop on the island of Edisto was abandoned when nearly ready for 
the harvest, and that the regular cultivation, in many other places, 
was seriously interfered with by events connected with the presence 
and occupation of a military force. 

Owing to the want of regular and systematic reports from the 
teachers, it has not been possible to obtain the statistics of the schools 
so exactly as could have been wished, in season for this Eeport. It 
is estimated, however, that from two to three thousand children have 
received instruction in these schools, besides a large number of adult 
negroes, whose attendance has necessarily been more irregular. The 
progress made by the children in their studies is generally fully equal 
to that of white children of the same age in our schools, and by many 
teachers is considered to have been more rapid than in any schools 
they had ever before taught. 

In March and April, 1862, twenty additional teachers and superin- 
tendents were sent out by your Committee. 

On or about the 1st of July, 1862, the care of the islands was trans- 
ferred from the Treasury Department to the Department of War, Mr. 
Pierce resigned his office as Special Agent, Brigadier General Rufus 
Saxton was appointed Military Governor, and the control and manage- 
ment of the plantations devolved upon him. General Saxton entered 
upon his duties with a just and liberal view of the character and 
wants of the people, and he has constantly endeavored to make every 
arrangement for their benefit which an enlightened policy and humane 
feeling could dictate. lie appointed as superintendents, under his 
own direction, all those who had been found by experience best fitted 
for the duties, and allowed to the teachers every reasonable privilege 
and assistance. 

General Saxton was so well satisfied with the teachers and superin- 
tendents appointed by the Commission, and by the Societies of New 
York and Philadelphia, that he made a special request for more from 
the same sources, and declined to accept any who were not accredited 
to him by these associations. At his request, ten additional superin- 
tendents were sent out in July, and others have since been chosen, 
making in all a total of seventy-two sent to Port Royal by the Com- 
mittee to this date. 

Three teachers have also been sent by the Commission to Craney 
Island and Norfolk, and one to Washington. 

Of the whole number sent to Port Royal by this Commission, thir- 



13 

ty-six still remain cither as teachers or superintendents, or in other 
departments of the Government service. Of seven ladies sent out, 
four are now engaged in teaching. Their success in their schools has 
been entirely satisfactory, while the influence which their presence 
has exerted in elevating and refining the character of the people has 
been invaluable. 

Four of the young men appointed by this Committee have died in 
the service. Their names are Francis E. Barnard, Samuel D. Phillips, 
Daniel Bowe, and William S. Clark. These young men were esteemed 
as among the ablest, the most highly educated, and the most consci. 
entious and enthusiastic laborers in the cause to which they devoted 
their lives. Their death in such a service is not less honorable than 
that of the soldier who falls in battle, bravely fighting for the defence 
of his country. 

During a visit of the Secretary of your Committee to Fortress Mon- 
roe and its vicinity, in December last, his attention was called to the 
need of teachers in that department, more particularly at Norfolk and 
Craney Island. By the means of passes furnished through the kind- 
ness of Brigadier General Viele, three ladies have been sent to Cra- 
ney Island to act under the direction of Dr. 0. Brown, the efficient 
Superintendent of Contrabands there. Letters lately received from 
Dr. Brown express the highest satisfaction with the appointments 
made, declaring these ladies to be " emphatically the right persons 
in the right place." 

Representations having been made of the urgent need of funds for 
the relief of the blacks at Washington and Alexandx-ia, the sum of 
five hundred dollars was contributed, in 1862, by the advice of your 
Committee, in aid of the Washington Relief Society. A teacher was 
also sent by the Commission to Washington, who labored there most 
efficiently till ill health obliged her to resign. 

Preparations were made, some months ago, to send .teachers of the 
Commission to Newborn, N. C, where a very large number of blacks 
is collected, and where there is, perhaps, more immediate need of aid 
than at any other point. The course of the late Military Governor 
of North Carolina prevented the plans of the Committee from being 
carried out, and no sufficient encouragement has since been given that 
assistance and protection will be afforded by the Government to 
teachers who may be sent there. A favorable reply to the applica- 
tion of the Committee is, however, now confidently anticipated. 

The results of the experiment at Port Royal may be looked upon as 
entirely successful in demonstrating the capacity of the freedmen for 
self-support in a condition of freedom, their readiness to work for 
wages, their strong desire for education, and the readiness with which 
they adopt the manners and habits of civilized life. It has, in this 



14 

way, done much towards solving the problem of the future condition 
of the race in this country. It is much to be desired that this expe- 
riment, so auspiciously begun, should be more thoroughly and exten- 
sively tested in other parts of the United States. That the Commis- 
sion may perform its part in this great enterprise, large additions to 
its funds are needed to enable it to employ an increased number of 
teachers and agents. The appointments made have, heretofore, been 
limited solely by the want of means. The number of those who are 
ready and anxious to engage in this work is very great. Your Com- 
mittee have received many hundreds of letters, or personal applica- 
tions, some of them from persons of the highest qualifications, asking 
for an opportunity to work in this new and interesting field of labor. 
Many of these applications they have been obliged to decline from 
the want of funds. 

Your Committee recommend that immediate measures be taken to 
procure an addition to the pecuniary resources of the treasury of the 
Commission, and to obtain from the Government the same facilities 
at Newbern, Fortress Monroe, New Orleans, and other places, as are 
now allowed at Port Royal and the Sea Islands. 

The expenditures of the Committee on Teachers have been as fol- 
lows, viz. : 

For salaries of teachers and superintendents, from Feb. 8 to 

July 1, 1862 $6,421.18 

Salaries of teachers since July 1, 1862 1,646.83 

$8,068.01 
Salaries of teachers due to May 1, 1863 757.00 

$8,825.01 

Paid for R. R. fares, $140 ; Books, $283.73 423.73 

Paid for Printing (estimated) 150.00 

. Total $9,398.74 

GEORGE B. EMERSON, -| 

LeBARON RUSSELL, i Committee 

LORING LOTI1ROP, )■ on 

CHARLES F. BARNARD, | Teachers. 

HANNAH E. STEVENSON, J 

Boston, Mat 13, 1863. 



15 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON CLOTEING AND SUPPLIES. 

The Committee report that they have received from the Treasurer 
of the Commission — 

Appropriations by the General Committee $3,050.00 

Proceeds of cloth and clothing sold at Port Royal 1,095.50 

Donations for clothing from many persons in Boston and elsewhere, 1,275.94 

$5,421.44 

They have paid for — 

Materials, Clothing, Blankets, &c $3,011.97 

Shoes 1,483.75 

Agricultural Tools and Seeds 359.68 

Medicines 58 00 

Freight 350.57 

Packing Cases, Coopering, Postage, &c 22.96 

Advertising 20.00 

$5,306.93 

Leaving on hand a balance of .... $ 114.51 

Considerable quantities of new and second-hand clothing have been 
received from about fifty of the cities and towns of New England, 
and one donation of excellent articles was received from Montreal, 
Canada. Since the formation of the society, in February, 1862, two 
hundred and fifty-eight cases and barrels of supplies, valued at over 
twenty thousand dollars, have been forwarded to various places where 
the negroes had collected. The whole number of garments furnished 
is about twenty-five thousand; and the amount expended for shoes 
provided seventeen hundred pairs. All our shipments to Rort Royal 
(with one exception) went in Government transports from New York, 
free of charge ; but on almost all other shipments we have been 
obliged to pay freight through from here. 

Materials have been sent in the piece to some places where female 
teachers were stationed, who could use them with advantage among 
their pupils ; but nearly all the cloth purchased has been cut into 
garments by ladies of Boston and vicinity, and made up without 
expense to the Commission, the greater part of the work of making 
up having been paid for by benevolent persons, wishing to assist the 
poor by furnishing them with employment, under the system -which 



16 

has been introduced by the Union Industrial Association and the 
Sanitary Commission. In this way at least one thousand dollars has 
been paid) to deserving women by parties, who, in many cases, 
have considered it a favor to be supplied with work for them. Thus, 
while materials have been cut, by skilful hands, into as large a num- 
ber of garments as possible, the manufacture of them has helped to 
support numbers of a large class always with us here. 

The Committee have received many accounts of destitution, which 
they have been unable to notice, owing to the limited means at their 
disposal. They regret that their operations have not been more ex- 
tensive, but believe that the supplies forwarded have saved some 
lives and relieved much suffering among a class who have felt the 
effects of the war more severely, perhaps, than any other, but who 
still are willing to bear all things for the sake of freedom. 

The Committee are especially obliged to Messrs. Wellington, Gross 
& Co. for constant assistance in receiving and forwarding contribu- 
tions. 

HANNAH LOWELL CABOT, - ) 

EMMA ROGERS, I Committee 

SARAH D. LANE, } on 



GEORGE S. WIN SLOW, 
GEORGE ATKINSON, 



Clothing. 



Boston, Mat 16, 1863. 



17 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CORRESPONDENCE. 

The Committee on Correspondence report that, in the earlier period 
of the enterprise, it was supposed that a general union of similar 
commissions would be made throughout the North. Such a union 
was found to be impracticable at that time. Nevertheless, each mem- 
ber of the Committee corresponded with persons in other towns and 
different States. The Committee also distributed several thousands 
of the following documents : — 

1. The Constitution of the Educational Commission. 

2. Address to the Public by the Committee. 

3. A Letter to accompany the Circular. 

4. Mr. Pierce's First Report. 

5. Reports of Committees of Teachers, and of Finance. 

6. Extracts from Letters from Teachers Jit Port Royal. 

7. Second set of Extracts from Letters. 

8. Mr. Pierce's Second Report. 

9. Mr. J. M. Forbes's Letter. 

Of late the services of the Committee have been but little called 
upon ; but they are ready, as heretofore, to aid in the noble cause the 
Commission is .intended to carry forward. 

Respectfully submitted, 



HENRY I. BOWDITCH, 
S. CABOT, Jk. 



'1 
\ 

ELLEN JACKSON, J 



FRANCIS J. CHILD, I on 
ANNA LORING, Correspondence. 



18 



REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE. 

The Committee refer to the Treasurer's account for the result of 
their applications for subscriptions. 

They earnestly hope that all the present subscribers will renew 
their subscriptions without further solicitations. 

They would also urge the formation of auxiliary societies in the 
various cities and towns of New England, to cooperate with the Com- 
mission, and the raising of funds for the support of teachers and for 
the general objects of the Association. Remittances may be made 
to either member of the Committee. 



1 



EDWARD ATKINSON, 
MARTIN BRIMMER, | Committee 

JAMES T. FISHER, S- on 

WILLIAM I. BOWDITCH, Finance. 

WILLIAM ENDICOTT, Jr. J 



Boston, Mat 13, 1863. 



19 



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20 



OFFICERS. 

CHOSEN AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, MAY 2?, 1863. 



President, His Excellency, John A. Andrew. 



Rev. Jacob M. Manning. 
Rev. Edward E. Hale. 
Rev. J. W. Parker, D.D. 
Rev. James Freeman Clarke. 
Hon. Jacob Sleeper. 
Dr. Robert W. Hooper. 



Vice Presidents. 

Prof. William B. Rogers. 
Rev. William Hague, D.D. 
Rev. Edward N. Kirk, D.D. 
Rev. Andrew L. Stone. 
Edward L. Pierce, Esq. 



Treasurer, Mr. William Endicott, Jr. 
Secretary, Mr. Edward Atkinson. 



Committee on Teachers. 



LeBaron Russell. 
Loring Lothrop. 
George B. Emerson. 



Charles F. Barnard. 

Miss Hannah E. Stevenson. 



Committee on Clothing. 



Mrs. Samuel Cabot, Jr. 
Mrs. William B. Rogers. 
Mrs. J. A. Lane. 



George S. Winslow. 
George Atkinson. 



Committee on Correspondence. 



Henry I. Bowditch. 
F. J. Child. 
Samuel Cabot, Jr. 



Edward Atkinson. 
Martin Brimmer. 
William Endicott, Jr. 
James T. Fisher. 



Miss Ellen Jackson. 
Miss Anna Loring. 



Committee on Finance. 

William I. Bowditch. 
James M. Barnard. 
Charles R. Codman. 



EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS 

OF TEACHERS AND SUPERINTENDENTS. 



FIRST SERIES. 



The following extracts from letters of the Teachers or agents of the Educational Commission are selected to 
show the character of the work in which they are engaged, and the encouraging success which they have so 
far met with. Although some of the letters have more especial reference to schools and teaching, it should be 
observed that the chief duty of the Teachers is to direct and organize the regular labor of the negroes on the 
plantations, and to look after their general welfare. Instruction is given chiefly on Sundays, and in the 
intervals of labor. More than fifty Teachers and Superintendents have been sent to Port Royal by the Com- 
mission. They have been chosen with special reference to their fitness for this duty, for their good sense and 
practical ability. There are among them representatives of the various professions and occupations, — lawyers, 
physicians, clergymen, engineers, business men and mechanics. They have proved, almost without excep- 
tion, well fitted for the positions assigned them. 

St. Helena Island, S. C, March 26, 1862. 

On Saturday, March 8th, our company, except two who were sent to Edisto and 
one to Dawfuski, started from Hilton Head in a small steamer for Beaufort. After 
breakfast, next morning, I went over to Ladies' Island. We were received with great 
cordiality by the negroes, who had seen one of our party before. They understand 
that their support and that of their families is to depend on their own exertions and 
faithfulness. No new clothing or other goods will be given them, except as reward or 
pay for labor done. 

When we arrived, our first proceeding was to address the negroes, who collected in 
front of the piazza, as to what we should expect from them — namely, faithful work ; 
and what they might expect from us — good care, justice, and to be taught to read. We 
told them we were to see that everything goes on straight, were to keep regular ac- 
counts of their labor, and that upon their faithfulness their future good depended. 
The negroes all seem to be gentle and civil, and pleased to have us come among them. 
There is a general desire to learn to read ; some know a little already. They are quite 
as well clothed as I expected to find them, but still need clothing very much. Cheap 
calico or other cloth, not made up, would be very useful here, as they would make it 
up to suit themselves, and the practice in sewing will surely not hurt them. Every- 
thing looks bright for the future, so far as our work is concerned, much brighter than 
I ever dared to hope. Fortunately the authority under which we act is much respect- 
ed here, and thus far we have been treated with much civility, if not kindness, by 
soldiers and every body. 

16th, Sunday morning, after breakfast, Ave drove down to the Baptist Church, at St. 
Helena Island. The house is situated in the midst of splendid old trees, with much 
hanging moss. Mr. E. expected to preach, but we found the pulpit was occupied by a 
soldier. The church was filled with negroes ; the dress of many of them was very 
odd, made principally of carpet stuff. A little boy, who came on horseback with his 
grandfather, wore a jacket made out of old Brussels carpet, and trowsers of Kidder- 
minster. After the sermon, Mr. Pierce made some remarks to the people as to our 
purpose in coming, and their duties in view of it. They came up to shake hands with 
us after listening very attentively, and seemed very glad to have us come. At Capt. 
F.'s I met a man, about forty years old, called " Bob ;" he said he could read the Bi- 
ble, but had never been able to find that any thing in it authorized such treatment as 



22 

they had received from their masters. He had always heard that Christ was the 
justest man that ever lived ; but if He allowed people to be treated as they had been 
treated, then Christ was not true. 

26th. Last Sunday we went to the Church on St. Helena Island ; we had a school 
before Church, at which nearly a hundred negroes, of all ages, were present. There 
being no one to preach, I was asked to say something ; so I began the service by read- 
ing a hymn, two lines at a time, while a colored brother led the singing. By this time 
there were three or four hundred negroes in the Church. I then read several passages 
from the Bible, and, in place of a sermon, told them one of the stories which used to 
be liked best by the children at our Bible class at Mr. C.'s. Mr. P. then made some 
very good remarks of a practical nature, and another hymn was doled out, two lines at 
a time. 

Salt, to deal out to the negroes, is very much wanted. They have been accustomed 
to a pint of it every two weeks, each man. and need it more than clothing. In view 
of this pressing need for salt, I have agreed to be responsible for thirty dollars' worth ; 
and you may tell any of my friends who wish to give anything, that they may pay five 
dollars and consider one barrel of salt as their contribution to the wants of these poor 
people. e. w. h. 



Edisto, 10, P.M., March 20th, 1862. 

My hands are full, as I like to have them — I having under me ten plantations at 
least, and nothing to ride but a twenty-one year old pony. I have now recorded the 
names of only about 400 blacks, but think I have 600 in all. 

I never care about moving in a better circle than I find right around me here. As 
looking-glasses are scarce, I sometimes forget I am a white man. 

On Tuesday I began my day school for children, under the care of " Hettie," who 
had stolen a knowledge of letters from time to time, and last night I began my evening 
school. It is a common desire among this people to know how to read. Yesterday, 
on one of my plantations, I left a primer with an old negro, say of 75 years, who 
wanted to teach a few around him ; and to-day I was surprised to know that an old 
woman present had come to learn her letters — probably to teach her grandchild at 
home living with her. 

My text last Sunday was, " Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling ; 
for it is God workethin you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Reading 
such selections from Mr. Pierce's letter as I thought proper, I likened them to the chil- 
dren of Israel in the wilderness, free from the bondage of Pharaoh, but not yet in the 
promised land. I dwelt long upon working out their own salvation, showing them 
how every bale of cotton stamped with free labor was an unanswerable argument in 
their favor. They seem perfectly to understand their position, though the Cuba story 
has been diligently preached to them. 

I have a gang of ten, I believe, who travelled about 200 miles, after having been 
carried thus far by their masters, and who would not obey orders to follow still 
further. 

I believe my company are not that lazy set they are generally reported to be. I see 
carpenters and house servants cheerfully pick cotton, or hoe, looking hopefully for 
better times. The mere presence of a white man, as friend and protector, is a great 
power. Most warmly have I been welcomed by the blacks, and often have I been en- 
couraged by their prayers for us, and themselves, and our cause. If these men and 
women are again enslaved, I hope I shall be bound with them. That they are fugi- 
tives from slavery is in their favor as men ; and as far as I have, in my limited experi- 
ence, been able to discover, they are now as well fitted to be freemen, if not better, than 
large numbers of whites at the North. I am sure they would be more grateful. I 
cannot tell what I have done on my plantations. I have not been idle, however. But 
I can tell what slavery has done, better than I ever wanted to know. f. e. b. 



St. Helena Island, S. C., March 24, 1862. 
Mr. Pierce has entrusted to my charge no less than eight plantations. They are 
situated on the easterly shore of St. Helena Island, about midway between the north- 
erly and southerly extremes, and cover a space about four miles in extent. I have 
been very busy in taking a census of the colored people on them, and other statistics 
of their past and present condition, as I have to make a report on these matters to Mr. 
Pierce. The number of colored people is 54 L The owner of one plantation, as I learn 



23 

from one of the negroes here, was opposed to the secession movement, and predicted 
its failure. His timidity, probably, forced him to take part with the rebels, as did that 
of many others. 

The plantations generally are in poor condition, having been stripped of their best 
horses, mules, saddles, carriages, &c, by the flying rebels, and subsequently rifled of 
valuable cattle and other stock by the soldiers of our army. The negroes, by a kind 
of instinct, inspired, as we must think, by a good Providence, chose to remain and 
take the chances of an invasion by the Yankees, who, if their masters were to be be- 
lieved, intended to kidnap them and send them off to Cuba to be sold. I have talked 
with many of them on this point, and they all concur in saying that this was the fate 
which their masters predicted for them. 

Yesterday, Sunday, I walked with Mr. Palmer and Demas to the Baptist Church 
(for colored people), some two miles from this place. We met at the Church several 
of the superintendents and teachers of other plantations, and we all of us spent an 
hour before the services commenced, in teaching the young and adult colored people 
the elements of reading. We are to teach them at the Church every Sunday morning, 
and those of them who reside on estates to which a teacher has been assigned, will 
have, besides, the benefit of a day school. Thus the day is beginning to dawn upon 
these benighted beings. Those wise philosophers, male and female, who think that 
negroes are baboons, would not believe me if I should set forth, in anything like ade- 
quate terms, the eagerness with which they apply themselves, young and old, to the 
task of learning the alphabet. You should have seen the joy manifested by the grown- 
up men when they made out a sentence of short monosyllables. 

The negroes, young and old, are sadly destitute of proper clothing, shoes and hats. 
We brought with us some garments (many of them old ones) contributed by benevo- 
lent persons. But it is too cold yet to make use of them. I received a small box of 
them a day or two since, but probably there are not half enough to supply the demand. 
If somebody had the means and the disposition to send me some shoes and strata hats of 
various sizes, I could make a very good use of them — not giving them away, but distri- 
buting them as the reward of labor. It would be very unwise to do anything by which 
these negroes would get the idea that their wants are to be supplied gratis, and whether 
they work or not. We shall teach them that they will reap according to what they 
sow; that the faithful and industrious will fare better than the disobedient and idle. 
The Government, no doubt, will provide all that is requisite, as soon as some judicious 
scheme can be matured ; but in the meantime these people are suffering, the crops must 
be planted, and inducements to labor must be held out to them. 

The general good behavior and kindness of the negro population here surprise me. 

R. s., JR. 



Parris Island, Port Royal, March 25th, 1862. 

I came here on the 13th of the present month, and have been here nearly two weeks. 
This island is about half way between Beaufort and Port Royal, and seven miles from 
either place. I found here, on my arrival, a gentleman already in possession, who has 
been employed to gather the cotton, and to set the negroes to work in behalf of the go- 
vernment. This he had commenced with great success, and I found he had already 
gained the respect and regard of the negroes on the island, and they cheerfully did 
whatever he required. He was very glad to have me come, for he needed assistance 
very much. He is an excellent business man, but some other functions are needed 
here besides those of business. I act here now as the teacher, the preacher and the 
doctor, in which last capacity I find my course of study in medicine serves me very 
usefully. Besides, I dispense the stores that I have received from the general fund, in 
clothing, which this poor people need very much, and of which I have, as yet, a very 
inadequate supply. Their masters have given them no clothing for the past year ; they 
carried away everything they could, and the poor people were, at first, plundered even 
by our own soldiers. They shot all the animals eatable, and carried away whatever 
they fancied of the possessions of the poor negroes. I found them all in rags, and in 
utter destitution of everything but corn. 

I have established among them three schools, one for adults and two for children, on 
two different parts of the island. They are all anxious to learn to read, from the least 
to the greatest ; and they are learning fast. In three months the greater part will be 
able to read the New Testament. I found one old man on the island that knew how 
to read, and I have made him my head teacher. I have addressed them the two last 
Sundays, and I found them a most attentive and devotional audience. They acknow- 
ledge very gratefully whatever is done for them. There are no better subjects of God's 



24 

earth for benevolence than these poor people. They trust the government with all 
their hearts, and serve it now with all their powers, and it would break both, utterly, 
if they were delivered back to slavery. If this should ever take place, I would weep 
for my country as for a mother who had lost character. Let there be no flagging in 
your zeal for the help of these people. 

The extent of Parris or Parry Island is five miles by three ; amount under culture, 
about one third ; number of plantations, five ; number of negroes, three hundred and 
seventy-five. j. c. z. 

Beaufort, S. C, March 16th, 1862. 

On Sunday morning, March 9th, the ground was covered with a white frost at Beau- 
fort, which cut down the most forward of the orange blossoms, but has not endangered 
the crop. I have been in charge of arranging and distributing seeds and farming im- 
plements for four days, and have thus had opportunity to converse with many laborers 
from various plantations. I have been greatly interested by their manners, look and 
conversation. Some of the plantations have been carried on by the plantation hands 
alone ; on one, with about forty laborers, some thirty acres have been prepared for 
planting, early vegetables planted, and already growing. Some have saved corn enough 
to plant, while almost starving and living on charity. I have had occasion to employ 
several, and have found but one lazy. I am struck with their erect and robust forms, 
their polite bearing and conversation to each other as well as to the whites. They are 
and will be quiet, industrious and good citizens, if guided and encouraged. Much 
need there is of better guidance and examples than they have had, especially since our 
army has been here. They seem, and I believe they are, very much pleased to have us 
come among them. The officers and soldiers, too, with whom I have conversed, give 
us a much more friendly reception than we expected. In fact, I suppose that they are 
very glad to be relieved of the care and trouble that necessity imposed upon them, and 
for which they had no inclination. I hear, on all sides, of the desire of the blacks, 
both old and young, to learn to read, and I hear that where schools have been estab- 
lished for some weeks, the improvement of the pupils is encouraging. 

From all I can learn about the climate of this region, I think it is quite as healthy 
as our own. Imprudence and excess are visited with more summary and exemplary 
retribution ; but there can be but little malarious miasma, if proper care be taken to 
prevent exposure — for there are no fresh water rivers, the region is literally composed 
of sea-islands, and the heat of the hottest part of summer is less than at Boston. 
Morning and evenicg damps are deleterious, but they can be avoided, or counteracted 
by fire, flannel and food of proper kinds, in proper quantity and at proper times. 

D. M. 



Beaufort, S. C, March 30th, 1862. 

I am, for the present, kept employed in distributing implements and seeds and ra- 
tions, in a room where medicines are also dispensed. In this position I have had an 
opportunity to see and converse with many of the " drivers " of the plantations, and 
from my intercourse with them, I hesitate not to say, that (in my opinion) the question 
of the unprovability of the negroes on their native soil is solved. These " foremen, " 
as we denominate them, are greatly superior to their fellow laborers in air and bearing ; 
in intelligent familiarity with the numbers, character and condition of those under 
their charge, in their explanation of the extent, crops and management of their planta- 
tions ; in clear and business-like language and method ; in purity, propriety and dis- 
tinctness of utterance. 

I wish to add my testimony to that of many who have had greater opportunities, 
concerning the amiability of the colored race. The adults are, almost universally, not 
only pleasant in manners and address, but they have countenances habitually express- 
ing amiableness. I think you may infer that I have high expectations of the benefi- 
cent results of our enterprise. r>. m. 



Coffin Point, St. Helena Island, S. C, March 25, 1862. 

The twenty boxes of clothes we brought are a mere mouthful when applied to three 

or four thousand people, unfurnished since the autumn of 1860. I have written Mr. 

Pierce, urging that the first payment of wages be made in cloth (which they always 

make up themselves, by the way), thread, &c, salt, molasses, tobacco, a little sugar, 



25 

hatn or salt beef, such as their masters always gave them, and of all which they are 
Badly in want. In fact, if I had come here with a supply of these things sufficient to 
pay them for the work they have volunteered to do this month, I should have been 
hailed as a deliverer, and should have got double the amount of cotton planted that I 
shall now- Ik- able to. Now you need not expect much of a crop from us this year, for 
the following reasons :— All the ploughing mules and horses have been stripped from 
the plantations, either by the rebels or our own quartermasters, and none returned yet. 
What little work is now done has been done with old worn-out hoes, with bare feet, 
while they usually wore their last autumn shoes in listing, which articles exist not. 
Moreover, they generally be^in to list ground a month earlier than this year, and con- 
tinued too with an organized force of laborers, which, bad as it may have been in its 
basis, was more efficient than the unorganized chaos found on this and many other 
plantations. 

I have given, thus far, the blue side of the subject, that you might be able to tell why 
we don*t raise much cotton bye and bye. But there is a brighter side, when we think 
how it would have been if we had not come here. If the men had been left alone, or 

worked by , we can readily see how they would have grown worse and worse; 

and though we may not, in many gangs, be able to inspire an honest love of industry 
and good order immediately, I must say I have found more of those traits on other 
plantations than I had hoped for. 

Every thing here bodes well to our enterprise. The negroes on Mr. E.'s plantation 
have already prepared some hundred acres for planting, and a good deal has been done 
voluntarily on many other plantations. In fact, from what I have already seen here, 
I am agreeably disappointed. Think of their having re-organized and gone delibe- 
rately to work here, some weeks ago, without a white man near them, preparing hun- 
dreds of acres for the new crop ! 

There is need of men like Mr. M., and of physicians who can leave and devote them- 
selves to dispensary practice with a will. If one feels any hesitation about coming in 
contact with the negroes, he should not come, for they are sharp enough to detect 
apathy or lurking repugnance, which would render any amount of theoretical sympathy 
about worthless. e. s. p. 



Coffin Point Plantation, St. Helena, March. 17th, 1362. 

Very little cotton can be obtained frorn the islands this season. The lateness 
of the season, the absence of mules, &c, the departure of many of the smart young 
men to the camps, where they easily find employment, and the strange and con- 
fused circumstances of the people who remain at home, furnish a most ample excuse — 
rather reason — lor this failure. In regard to the means of actual subsistence, corn 
enough remains on most of the plantations to carry the people through to the next crop. 

Most of the children seem intelligent, and the parents are greatly delighted at the 
idea of education for them. One of the mothers told me this morning that she would 
work her girl's task, if she might be allowed to come to school ; the girl is a mulatto, 
whom she views with great pride as well as fondness. The older people are usually very 
religious, inclined to " lean on top of the Lord," as one old woman expressed it — I think 
truly and purely so. The religion of the younger portion — in those who claim any — 
is more of the earth. Three evenings a week and thrice on the Sabbath they meet for 
prayer and praise. On one of our plantations the master has built them a small 
"praise-house" — a most unusual favor, I presume. The younger usually wish to end 
the worship with a " shout," — a kind of slow, religious trot, accompanied by loud 
singing of a few lines or words repeated over and over again. The conclusion of the 
stanza or sentence is marked by a peculiar jerk of the body. It seems to be a negro 
variety of the Greek chorus — and has about as little, perhaps as much, religion in it. 

It is certainly no unjust or extravagant demand for a laboring people to ask for the 
food and clothing which masters, who considered them as property, found it expedient 
to grant. Private benevolence must supply the want, if it is to be supplied, both for 
the sake of speed, and to ensure anything like a sufficiency. A moment is passing in 
which it seems that more could be clone for the negro race than at any past moment in 
its history; but it is passing, and unless employed for the purposes for which God 
offers it, years may again elapse before the epoch returns. 

But one thing should be remembered ; if any boxes of made clothing are ready, send 
them by all means, but the service will be increased, not lessened, by sending the goods 
in the piece, with the requisite sewing materials. The women seem to be — for their 
light— skilful tailoresses, they are accustomed to make the clothing for their families, 

4 



26 

and probably take a pleasure and pride in doing so. Certainly much better fits will 
be obtained, and less cloth wasted. If, apart from the absolute necessities of clothing, 
shoes and salt, any one feels disposed to help us greatly in our work, contributions of 
tobacco, soap, sugar, molasses, will pave a broad way into their confidence and love. 
They have been accustomed to buy small trifles for themselves, such as soap, tobacco, 
&c, but money they can now spend to less advantage than ever — supposing they had 
any. A few jack-knives for the boys, and bright ribbons for the girls, would make 
them show all the white teeth they could, in gratitude. w. c. g. 



Ladies' Island, March 31st, 1862. 

On the H. place, I found forty or more acres of ground ready for planting corn. 
They have now planted nearly all of it. On the S. place, which is small, they had 
done nothing, but have now nine acres of ground planted with corn, and have com- 
menced to prepare the ground for cotton. On the B. place, I found nothing done ; but 
the people have been at work, and have twenty-five acres or more of corn planted, and 
are to commence to prepare cotton-ground to-morrow. Ihere is no corn on the place, 
and I am obliged to get the weekly allowance from a neighboring plantation. The 
people here are very much in need of salt < and molasses; also of clothing. If the 
cloths could be furnished them, I think it would be better than garments already made. 

This morning, by Mr. Pierce's directions, I commenced a school for the children in 
the neighborhood who were not of use in the field. I had forty scholars. This af- 
ternoon I formed a school, at 4, for the older people, and had thirty-five pupils. I find 
but two who know their letters, although many can say them in rotation. i. w. c. 



St. Helena Island, April 1, 1862. 

This is the earliest possible date at which I could make you a proper Report of what 
I have done, and of the condition of the plantations and the negroes. I left Beaufort 
for this place March 19th, with a Mr. S., of New York. Seven plantations were as- 
signed to us to take charge of. The potatoes and part of the corn are already planted. 
The negroes had gone to work and planted about four acres of corn for themselves, to 
keep from starving. They wanted' to have that corn for themselves, and I told them 
they might if they would plant as much extra corn for Government ; they said they 
would, and I shall see that it is done. I told the people that their wages for the next 
year depended entirely on the amount of work they did this year. With the disadvan- 
tages that they had to contend with, I told them that Government did not expect as 
much of them this year as last, but that if they did not do all that they were able to 
do, they, not Government, would suffer ; that the more cotton they raised, the more 
clothes, &c„ they would have ; that we should do all we could for them, if they did all 
they could for us. 

The T. B. C, place is in the best condition of any I have seen. There is a very in- 
telligent driver (Robert) on the place. He can read quite well, and knows fully what 
he is about ; he keeps every thing in as good order as possible. The houses are kept 
clean, and in as good repair as it is possible to keep them. He had planted four or five 
acres of corn before we came, and it is up now. 

The negroes are much pleased that we want to teach them, and they learn very fast ; 
they take their books out into the field, or wherever they go, and some of them study 
more than they work. I told them if they did not do their tasks, I should take their 
books away ; and they all said they would work harder if they could keep them. I 
teach every afternoon on the different plantations, and in the evening at Dr. J.'s. 
There is great need of simple spelling books. The negroes are very kind to us, and 
will do anything for us, if we will only teach them. I have not heard an oath among 
them since I came. They keep themselves much neater than I expected. J. e. t. 



Beaufort, S. C, April 2, 1862. 
It is my duty to report, that a school for colored children is now in successful ope- 
ration in Beaufort, under my supervision, in the immediate charge of Miss E. H. P.. 
assisted by four colored teachers. Their names are Peter, Paul, Thomas and Ephraim, 
It was opened Jan. 8th, with 16 pupils ; present number in attendance, 36 boys and 65 
girls; — total, 101. The pupils are making good progress. None knew the letters of 



27 

the alphabet on admission ; the more advanced are now in easy reading. There is a 
marked improvement, also, in neatness, order and quietness. "Within the last few 
weeks exercises in singing have been had daily, with manifest benefit. An hour 
in the afternoon is also devoted to the careful instruction of the assistant teachers, 
including penmanship. The colored teachers are paid by the avails of a weekly 
contribution of live cents from each pupil. This contribution is cheerfully made, but 
not enforced in exceptional cases of orphanage or extreme poverty. The teachers have 
agreed to accept as their entire compensation whatever amount is realized — averaging 
now, in the aggregate, about $3 per week. 

The Commission will he gratified to know, that although the opening of the school 
was at first looked upon with some distrust by the local military command, no ob- 
structions have at any time been thrown in its way, and that it is now expressly 
regarded wit* favor. It gives me great pleasure to add, that other schools have also 
been opened in Beaufort and on some of the plantations, more or less organized, and 
that several Sabbath schools have been instituted, taught chiefly by plantation superin- 
tendents, with other helpers. The colored people are eager and apt to learn. Nume- 
rous private applications arc made for books by adults, so as to study at home, which 
are generally granted ; taking care to give to such none that are needed in the schools. 

8. P. 



SECOND SEEIES. 



St. Helena Island, April 4th, 1862. 

Some time was necessarily spent at Beaufort before Mr. Pierce could arrange assign- 
ments for all of us. On the 18th ult. he appointed me, with Mr. J. H. P., as assistant 
teacher, to take charge of eight plantations situated on the easterly shore of this isl- 
and, and extending over a space of nearly five miles midway between the two extre- 
mities. We arrived at the plantation, called Phrogmore, the next day, and we have 
had our residence here since ; but in the course of a few days, we purpose to remove 
our quarters to the next estate southward — Edgar Fripp's — where the dwelling-house 
is a much better one than that we now occupy. 

I have been very busy thus far in collecting the statistics of the estates in my dis- 
trict, and in organizing the laboring forces on the several plantations for efficient ser- 
vice in planting and cultivating this year's crop of corn, potatoes, and cotton. On the 
29th ult. I made my first report to Mr. Pierce, embracing many statistical facts, and 
such remarks as seemed pertinent to the occasion. 

I have been surprised at the general good behavior of the negroes, and at their readi- 
ness to welcome our presence among them. They are especially pleased at the pros- 
pect of being taught to read and write, and all are very eager to learn — the adults as 
well as the children. 

The negroes do not quite comprehend their new status, though they seem to take it 
for granted that they are free, and they are inclined to carry the doctrine, '« Each one 
for himself," as they express it, a little too far. They are a little skeptical about the 
intentions of the U. S. government to pay them for their labor, and for this reason : — 
When the cotton agents came here, they told the negroes that if they would go to 
work and help prepare the cotton for shipment, they should be handsomely paid for it. 
That pledge has never been redeemed. How very natural it is that they should hesi- 
tate to credit us when we tell them that compensation will come by-and-by. They 
are the more uneasy under this disappointment, from the fact that some of their rela- 
tives or acquaintances have found employment at Bay Point, Hilton Head, or Beaufort, 
and have been regularly paid for their services. It is quite essential, I think, to the 
success of our mission, that the government should take measures immediately to make 
proper compensation to the negroes for their work done on the plantations, and j>artly 
in money. This would reassure them, and we should have no difficulty in keeping 
them steadily employed in raising the ordinary crops. 

The black population within my district numbers 525, of whom 206 are of the ages 
of fifteen and under. They are all wretchedly destitute of clothing. Some garments 
were furnished by benevolent persons in Boston and New York, but they are so few 
that I feel much embarrassed as to the most equitable mode of distributing those that 



28 

have fallen to my share. A better way of supplying the wants of the negroes would 
be to furnish a cheap kind of striped cotton cloth, as their masters used to do, and let 
the seamstresses among the black women make it up into garments, shirts, pantaloons, 
gowns, &c, according to the most pressing needs of each person. r. s., jr. 



P arris Island, Port Koyal, April 5th, 1862. 

This is the third or fourth letter of my writing. 

I never was more intensely occupied in my life, or to more useful purpose. I am 
truly grateful to God for the opportunity. I am here fulfilling the functions of the 
minister, the teacher, and the doctor; besides which, I "keep store" and#ielp oversee 
the work on the plantations. I preach every Sunday to the most attentive and inte- 
rested audience I ever had. 1 have, on an average, from six to ten patients a day to 
prescribe for. I never thought my studies in medicine would ever come so well 
into play. 

I have established three schools on the island — one for adults and two for children. 
These I teach daily myself, and have an old negro for an assistant — the only man that 
could read on the island among three hundred. I am using the "phonic method." It 
is truly gratifying to see the eagerness and success with which these people are learn- 
ing to read. I doubt not a large number will be able to read the Bible in three months 
from this time. Will not that be a triumph for them and for us ! 

Mr. C. C. E. is helping me very efficiently in working the plantations. We shall 
have a cotton and a corn crop on this island, besides large vegetable gardens. The 
industrial problem is all right ; but this poor people are in need of everything, having 
barely corn enough for their present wants. The government has, as yet, paid them in 
nothing but promises, but under these they are working very faithfully. It is non- 
sense, or worse, to say this people will not work unless they are made to. They are 
just as industrious and willing as any class of white people I ever saw ; and besides, 
they are docile, affectionate, and grateful for anything you do for them . Their faults 
are those of children. I am struck, constantly, with the childhood of this race. 

I have got what was regarded as my share of the things sent by the Associations ; 
but they have served only as a " drop in the bucket." I have not been able to clothe 
a tenth part ; besides which, they need such necessaries as salt, molasses, meat, &c, 
and they have no money to buy them. But they have strong arms and willing hearts, 
and are able to raise valuable crops. Now I felt at once it was not proper to treat 
these people as paupers. I therefore adopted this plan : — I charge them some moderate 
price for everything I give out, to be paid for when the government pays them for their 
labor. This stimulates them to work, supplies most pressing wants at a far cheaper 
rate than they could possibly get them in trade, and they feel the dignity of buying 
with their lawful labor. This money I will return to the Associations, to be re-in- 
vested, in their behalf, in the same or in some other way ; and thus you may do them 
a great service with comparatively very little expense. 

The negroes have some little money laid up in old stockings, which they would be 
very glad to invest in things necessary to their comfort ; so some of the sales might be 
made for cash. If these people are abandoned to the traders, who are ready to swarm 
upon them, they will be cheated out of everything ; for, as yet, they know neither the 
value of money nor the price of anything. But they will buy whatever hits their 
fancy. Do send me some clothes and supplies on this plan, as soon as you can, and I 
will render a faithful and good account of them. s. c. z. 



North Edisto Island, April 6th, 1862. 

You will probably learn from other sources that we labor here under great difficul- 
ties and under extreme peril. The enemy are on the island. We lie clown at night, 
not to sleep, but to rest and await the " order " to be ready at " six hours' notice," to 
gather up negroes, tools, &c, and evacuate the place. We may plant to-day, and to- 
morrow be on our way to Hilton Head. Yet Ave are hoping for the best. 

The plan upon which I teach is that of the Kinder Garten School ; they learn the 
letters as readily as any children taught in our Northern schools. The boy who keeps 
the card for me is teaching his sister, as fast as I teach him ; he is 14 years of age, and 
she is over 20, and married. 

I am glad to say that, with the exception of two or three cases, I have had no trou- 
ble ; all work cheerfully and readily ; and I am managing eight places and over four 
hundred and fifty people. 



29 

I found the people here cleaner, more energetic, more intelligent, more ready to 
labor, than any 1 had seen elsewhere. They had not been spoiled by the soldiers. 
Many were and arc in great need of clothes. Some are nearly naked. All are very 
anxious to learn to read. 

As I looked upon this large body of people, and thought of what I had to do for 
them — set them at work, preach to them the word of life, teach them to read, provide 
tools and cattle and horses and seed, protect them from marauding soldiers, correct 
their habits and vices — I well nigh gave up; but God helped me. My first work, 
of course, was to plant. I sent the " driver," and went myself, to other parts of the 
island and searched for tools — hoes, ploughs — ran down and enclosed horses, working 
cattle, cows — tried every way to stock the places. I have been in the saddle from 6 
A. M. to 5 and 8 P. M., every day. I am obliged to ride eight miles and over to visit 
all the plantations under ray care. 

I have entered upon the sixth week of my labors here. I have two schools in ope- 
ration, both taught by blacks, who can read. 1 am behindhand in this matter — for I 
am teaching the people nothing, except so far as I may occasionally. 

The people work well and obey me cheerfully. I have 210 working hands. I have 
started vegetable gardens. I am whitewashing the cabins, inside and out. 

The hardest work I have is to tight the»soldiers ; they take my teams away from my 
men ; steal the chickens and eegs from my old people ; break into the cabins at night, 
to insult the women ; and lose no opportunity to plunder. The N. H. 3d, and the 
N. Y. 47th, give me no trouble at all. 

We desire that this people shall be free. We talk a great deal about making sacri- 
fices to make them free. Are we willing to spend thousands from our private resources 
and fortunes to bring this about ? 

I am sensible that no one can estimate the moral influence resulting to this people if 
they are properly paid this year. c. e. r. 



St. Helena Island, April 8th, 1862. 

On March 24th, in accordance with the advice of Mr. P. and Mr. E., I opened a 
school, with scholars from the plantations of E., P., and P., the latter being more than 
a mile from the bridge, on St. Helena. There were 41 scholars the first day, and the 
number has increased to 77 — 40 girls and 37 boys. They range in age from 6 to 15. 
I have been assisted by Master W. E., son of P. A. E. Though a boy of only twelve 
years, he has been quite efficient, and very useful to me. 

The boys learn more readily than the girls, though they are not so orderly in be- 
havior ; but in a short time I hope they will become accustomed to the restraint and 
conform to rules more easily. The children learn quite as readily as white children of 
the same age. On examining the pupils, the hist day of the school, I found but three 
or four who knew any of the letters, and none who knew all of them. I had, in one 
week from that day, a class of seven boys and six girls who could read words of one 
syllable. This week the class numbers twenty. Four afternoons in a week I have a 
school at P. plantation, for field hands who may have finished their tasks, and any one 
who wants to read. Usually from thirty to forty attend ; principally of mature age. 
They are anxious to learn, and do themselves great credit by their aptness. 

(J n Sundays I have taught in the Sabbath School, in the large church on St. Helena. 
The class assigned to me on March 23d and 30th, was one composed of twenty-five 
men, five of whom could read, the others leaiming the alphabet. 

I visit nearly every day the quarters on E.'s plantation ; endeavoring to persuade 
the women to clean their houses, and to improve their domestic habits. Our requests 
have been very cheerfully complied with, and a marked change is noticeable in their 
appearance. The laborers are evidently pleased with our interest in their welfare, 
shown by our efforts to secure for them clean and healthful homes. 

I am very happy in my work, and hope to continue in it as long as this people 
need aid. ellen h. w. 



Coffin's Point, St. Helena Island, April 12, 1862. 

I will now give you a sort of diary, to show how life is spent here. 

April 3d. — Sixty-eight hands in the potato field planting sweet potatoes, swinging 
their hoes in unison, timed by a jolly song, words undistinguishable. They work 
with a good will, and plant about thirteen acres during the day. I walk over to the 
Fripp's Pine Grove plantation, and find the people planting corn ; teach school after 



30 

task is done, 3 to 5, v. m., in a loft of the cotton house, benches supplied from " Praise 
house," i. e., chapel, and carried back to same after school every day, the chapel being 
too small for a school-room. I find an old sulky, with shafts and body supplied by a 
negro carpenter, who says the wheels and frame belong to the government, but thinks 
his work in saving the pieces and rebuilding sulky worth $4. I pay the same, and 
take possession of the sulky, driving home with an old sore-backed horse, and a har- 
ness consisting mostly of old hemp. 

Mi\ G. gives out a few garments to some worthy women ; the other women make a 
terrible fuss because they don't all get some. Their husbands leave their work and 
come down on me in a posse, and say their wives deserve as much as any (and I dare 
say they do). All hands agree to wait till we can get clothing or cloth enough to give 
each family a piece. They dislike this made-up clothing, and the first thing they do 
is to make it over to suit their wants. They have always made all their clothes, and 
their mistresses' and masters' too, except the best suit, so our northern ladies get no 
thanks for their sewing. 

Saturday, April 5th. — The people on Coffin's hesitate about working on Saturdays. 
I tell them they must work, or I shall report them to Massa Lincoln as too lazy to be 
free. The best part go into the field grumbling about "no clothes, no tobacco, no mo- 
lasses, no bacon, no salt, no shoes, no medicine," &c, which is all very true and unan- 
swerable. I can only say the war has shut up all these things, and we can't get them 
in the north as Ave used to, but I will do my best to get a little. 

April 7th. — All hands at work in the new cotton field for the first time this year — 
working well. Men, women and children, without shoes, swinging some sixty-five 
heavy hoes. The wife of the driver (we have two drivers on this plantation), who left 
to seek his fortune among the soldiers last week, comes to me and complains that she 
does not get her allowance of " clabber " (i. e., bonny-clapper or milk) ; I tell her she 
must not expect to get the allowance of a driver's wife, now her husband is not here, 
but must be content with an equal share of milk with all the women. She mutters a 
good deal, but the other women only laugh at her — as if to say, " that's right." 

Steamer Flora comes to our wharf, about noon, after cotton. All hands at work 
loading and hauling to the wharf the rest of the day. 

April 8th. — All the men at work loading cotton. I stroll out through the. woods to 
the cotton field, expecting to find the women at work, but find none. On inquiry, 
find Col. N. told them to come and get some sugar after the steamer was loaded, and 
they thought best to hang about the steamer till noon. The barrel of sugar is then 
carried up to the house and sold to them for money, each taking what she can pay for. 

I go to the Fripp's Point plantation in the afternoon. Find the people had quit 
work in the middle of the forenoon, tasks only half done. Men were all here helping 
load cotton, and women left to work alone, so (of course) they got quarrelling, felt 
discouraged about pay, and declared they wouldn't work on cotton without the usual 
supply of clothes. I called them all up, and had a grand pow-wow. I first heard 
their complaints, and then told the usual facts about the difficulty of getting clothing, 
&c, during the war ; told how much they had at stake in their own welfare and that 
of millions of other negroes, and that if they failed to show now that they could work 
as hard without the whip as they used to work with it, the government would be dis- 
gusted with them and believe all the stories their masters told us about their laziness, 
&c. &c. ; hinting that, if they didn't raise cotton enough to pay for all the comforts 
they wanted, the people of the North would say, " These islands are not worth keeping ; 
let's take our soldiers away and let secesh come back." I told them I had just bought 
some salt at Beaufort with my own money, meaning to give them a quart all round, 
but if they continued lazy I shouldn't try to do much more for them. They all broke 
out at this with, "Thank you, massa; thank you, thousand times! We will work. 
You shan't call us lazy. We will never work again for old massa and his whip. We 
only wanted to know if we were sure of our pay, it is so hard living without clothes a 
whole year, and we get sick putting sea- water in our hominy, and haven't had our salt 
for so many months." A good many promised to make up the unfinished tasks of the 
morning, and I called the children together for school, leaving all in good humor. 

The driver tells me that Massa Washington Fripp, the brother of his old owner, had 
just been shot near Charleston for refusing to enlist. He was told this by a negro just 
escaped from the main. He says, " Our massa didn't like this war ; he told the other 
white people it was all wrong, and that the Yankees were sure to beat. He w r ould 
have staid here with us, but he didn't dare to, the other white folks would have killed 
him. He told us before he went off, when the Yankees took Hilton Head, that we 
must stay here and work as we used to, and that if we went to the main, as the sol- 
diers told us, we should all starve ; so we hid in the woods till the soldiers had gone 



31 

and then came back here and went to work, Sir, getting ready to plant corn, as 
massa told us, and if you had only come a month earlier, Sir, we could have planted 
as much cotton as ever, Sir, but now it is too late to list much ground, and we can't 
plant much." I told him to plant all he could, and I would do all I could for the 
comfort of the people. 

April 1 1th. — i'eople all start for the cotton field in good humor. Driver is called off 
by Mr. S. to furnish him with the crew ; while he is absent from the field, the people, 
mostly women and children, say among themselves, "Here are twenty-four of our 
husbands and brothers gone to work for their own selves, what's the use of our work- 
ing for our driver or massa — let's go work for ourselves too," and away they scatter. 
The greater part go to work listing cotton ground in detached patches, scattered all 
over 300 acres, in a most republican spirit, but not in a way to be encouraged at pre- 
sent. Some go catching crabs ; some go planting corn on their own hook. All leave 
the field early. I go out and find the driver utterly discouraged ; says it's no use 
bothering with such people, and he goes to planting on his own patch too. Now this 
would do well enough in a more advanced state of civilization, but just now it muat 
be treated as chaos and insubordination, for, under such a system, the non-workers, 
old folks, &c, would starve. I walk about among some of them, and tell them this 
day's work will count them nothing on my book, and that if they don't work as the 
driver tells them, I shall never give them any salt, or clothing, or anything else. Visit- 
ing Fripp's plantation in the afternoon, I find all in good order — corn and potatoes all 
planted, and about fifteen acres cotton land ready for planting. 

April 12th. — Go out with the people early, and see them go to work cheerfully, 
planting cotton seed. About twenty acres ready on this plantation, which they will 
plant to-day. I find one man a little saucy to the driver, and give him a lecture,' send- 
ing him about his work. I find my hint about the salt has taken effect, and the people 
appear to work willingly and cheerfully. In fact, they are the most docde and easily- 
managed people in the world, and I can only admire the amount of patience exhibited 
under such untoward circumstances. 

This plantation shows more demoralization than any other on the island, I am told. 

The reason is plain enough. The regiment were quartered here for some time, 

making a slaughter-house of this building where we now live, killing some eighty head 
of cattle, eating lots of their sweet potatoes, and leaving barely enough for seed. The 
soldiers hired the men for cooks, and told them they were free to do as they pleased 
now — they need never mind a driver any more, that each of them was as good as a 
driver, &c., telling them to go to work each on his own patch, aud raise what corn 
they wanted. They neglected to tell them that they must plant cotton to pay for 
clothes, and every other comfort which they expected to receive except corn and pota- 
toes. The natural disgust for cotton labor was left to brood till we arrived, and no- 
thing but corn ground was prepared, except on Mr. E.'s, who came before. Thanks 
to the natural good sense of the negroes, they prepared a good deal of land for corn 
on their own responsibility, with no orders from any one but their drivers. e. p. 



Beaufort, S. C, April 16th, 1862. 

Your favor of the 6th inst. arrived with the new delegation of which you made 
mention, with a considerable portiou of which I have made acquaintance. They 
seem to be practical, hearty, earnest men. If every superintendent of a plantation 
could be largely endowed with such Yankee training and character, I think that 
the best results might be anticipated. Every superintendent needs to be Pater fa- 
milias to all his dependents, and equally farmer, mechanic, teacher, and friend, 
not omitting the important qualifications of nurse and medical director. In the first 
characteristic, I would include all that relates to economics, method, oversight ; in the 
second, ability to adapt tools to peculiar soils, crops, teams ; to repair or direct the re- 
pair of all his tools, household utensils, the clothing of his dependents, and the harness 
of his teams ; the teacher and friend should be manifested irl the whole management 
and administration of the estate, and especially in the life and manners, including in- 
tellectual, moral, and religious instruction, but imparted rather by works than words. 
Persons skilled only to teach lessons by precept, whether in the school-room or church, 
I value very little for our enterprise. The farmers qualified to preach I should much 
prefer to the preachers who know something of farming. 

I think that the basis of civilization we ought to establish is industry adapted to the 
character and habits of the laboring class, as well as to the soil and the climate; and 
the most suitable productions. The women here are more than half men ; they cannot 



32 

(if they would) spend all their time profitably, in any respect, in the house. They have 
no houses, in the New England acceptation of that domicil — nothing but shelters 
against the inclemencies of the seasons, and poorer ones than our northern cattle gene- 
rally have ; no windows, only openings closed with shutters ; many have no floors but 
the earth ; no beds but shelves of hard pine boards, with perhaps blankets to lie on 
in summer and -under in winter ; no tables to sit around ; no chairs ; benches, boxes, 
&c, supply their place ; no candles or lights ; wood enough they generally have, though 
with but little at a time. d. m. 



THIRD SERIES. 



Beaui'ort, S. C, Jan. 8th, 1863. 

It is my opinion, formed entirely from what I have seen here during the past season* 
that the great body of the negroes at Port Royal would be industrious, and would labor 
enough to support comfortably themselves and their families, under any system of labor 
which should offer them a fair and reasonably certain return for their work. 

The negroes here show very considerable desire to improve their mental and physical 
condition. We have made great effort this year to give the people convenient oppor- 
tunity to buy the comforts of civilized life ; and so far as this effort has been successful, 
I believe it has greatly tended to stimulate the people to exertion. The store estab- 
lished by the Philadelphia Society is a very important part of our machinery, for it 
gives the people a chance to buy a great variety of articles, of good quality and at a 
fair price. "Up to this time, owing to difficulty in getting transportation for its goods, 
the store has not been able to keep a supply equal to the demand. It is quite inter- 
esting to watch the increasing demand for the comforts of life. In view of this, I have 
no fear but that the negroes will be industrious whenever they can get wages for their 
work. 

The negroes are very generally mild and gentle towards the whites. I have seen but 
little disposition for revenge upon their former masters. All they ask is to be "let 
alone." I think there are many who would do anything rather than be made slaves 
again, and if the masters should ever attempt to put on them again the yoke which 
God has just broken, they must do it at their own peril. The fiercest and most frequent 
quarrels among the negroes themselves, are those caused by complications of the mar- 
riage relation. Such cases are the most difficult of any which come up for settlement, 
because the roots of the trouble extend so far beyond our reach. Both parties are gen- 
erally in fault, and yet neither of them as much in fault as the masters, who allowed 
and encouraged a disregard of God's ordinance of marriage. 

If all white men in the country were heartily agreed to put an end to slavery at 
once, I see no possible danger in immediate emancipation ; for I believe that the 
negroes would accept the change thankfully, and be contented to forget the past. As 
the case stands, I think there would be comparatively little danger in immediate eman- 
cipation, if the Government should carry out such a policy both wisely and earnestly, 
taking advantage of every opportunity for bridging over the gulf between slavery and 
freedom — a gulf which all the negroes must cross before the country can again be 
allowed rest and prosperity. 

The negroes here are, almost universally, anxious to read. They learn to read very 
readily, but I see no reason why they should not be as capable of learning other things 
as they have shown themselves of learning to read. 

The negroes are very apt to learn in military matters. Both Gen. Saxton and Col. 
Higginson have been much gratified at the success of the 1st S. C. Volunteers. They 
have great confidence that when the regiment shall have been thoroughly tested, it will 
have proved itself as good as any regiment in the service. I heard a white man, who 
was on the vessel with a detachment of negro soldiers which made' an expedition into 
Florida, and who is not disposed to exaggerate the virtues of the " nigger soldiers." as 
he calls them, say that the men on that occasion behaved very well under fire. 

As to the success of the Port Royal enterprise, industrially considered, I would say 
that the cotton crop of this year is very small compared with the ordinary crop raised 
here. We expect now to get about 100,000 lbs. of ginned cotton. The best managed 
plantations, and those where the circumstances were most favorable, have raised cotton 



33 

enough to much more than pay all expenses, besides raising a considerable surplus of 
food-crop over their own needs against the next harvest. The estimate of crops made 
by Mr. S., in his report of October 31, 1862, now appears to have been too large. It 
was made in good faith upon information furnished by the superintendents, but several 
unforeseen causes have since reduced the crop which the superintendents confidently 
expected. Much of the cotton which the superintendents were counting upon was 
overtaken by th i frost before it came to maturity. This misfortune was probably in a 
great measure owing to late planting. The chief things which have interfered with 
complete success, as to visible results, this year, have been, lateness in commencing agri- 
cultural operations ; inadequate supply of seed (cotton), implements, mules and other 
means of transportation at the time when most needed ; the entire uncertainty as to the 
future, necessarily incident to a military department ; depredations upon the plantations 
made by troops picketed upon or near them ; and many other hindrances which would 
not exist in a well-ordered community in time of peace. The material results this year 
are no indication of what may be fairly expected under more favorable circumstances 
in the future. I think there can be no question as to the ability of the laborers in this 
department to support themselves, and I believe that good management would make 
these plantations profitable to one who should carry them on with freed laborers. 

E. W. H. 



St. Helena Island, May 15th, 1863. 

There are now in my school 37 girls and 40 boys. The first class have read Hillard's 
Second Reader through several times, and are looking every day for new books from 
the north. They propose to write to t)r. R., whose name is quite familiar to them, 
asking him for " harder books." Some could do it, though in rather irregular pen- 
manship. They improve very fast in writing, and will soon be able to write letters. I 
very much need copy-books and pens, so they may become accustomed to using ink. 
I have no large children in the alphabet class now, none being over eight years old. 

It has been said by some, that education makes the colored children impudent and 
hard to govern. It may be so in a very few cases, but I think it can hardly be called 
anything more than a new-found pleasure which they do not understand how to use 
yet. Education will make the blacks fit to be the companions of the whites, and will 
soon bring them to a respect of, and true politeness towards, those who have demanded 
their obeisance thus far. The children are very playful, and I have never tried to keep 
them at a distance, but rather taught them such plays as the children at the north have. 
We have as nice games of balls and marbles as the northern children, and are begin- 
ning to make dolls for the girls. 

The school has had a week's vacation, but resumed studies again with renewed vigor, 
and beg that they may not " be punished so again." The vacation is the hardship to 
these children. 

Mr. F. and myself have an evening school, to teach writing. About twenty-five 
attend, most of them adults. One man, Roger Taylor, 65 years old, in one evening, 
learned to make eight letters and put them together into words. The school is very 
interesting, and many will, I am sure, learn to write this summer. Spelling is taught 
at the same time. You would like to see the men and women " fighting with the let- 
ters," as they say, so that thay may not be " made ashamed " by their children who are 
learning so fast. E. h. f. 



St. Helena, S. C, Mat 21st, 1863. 

I commenced teaching the 24th of March, 1862. I have taught fourteen months, 
with the exception of six weeks vacation in the summer. 

The total number of names registered is 256 ; number belonging now, 78 ; greatest 
number belonging at any one time, 153; average attendance for the year, 76.5 ; aver- 
age attendance for the last three months, 66 ; highest number present at one time, 148 ; 
number who knew their letters at first, ; number who know their letters now (of the 
present number), 69 ; number who could read at first, ; number who can read now, 
59. The studies are reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic and geography. The first 
class read in the Testament, Hillard's Second Reader, and spell from the Reader ; study 
Eaton's Arithmetic, geography from a map, and write on slates. The second class read 
in Hillard's Second Reader, and spell; and in the Bible Reader, and write on slates. 
The third class read in Hillard's First Reader, and spell. The fourth class are learning 
the alphabet. 

5 



34 

The third class need a third reader, a simple geography, a spelling-book and writing 
books. The second class will soon use Eaton's Arithmetic, which I have for them. 
The third class have Hillard's First Book, but need some other one. They can repeat 
nearly all the sentences in the book, from hearing the other classes, yet cannot tell the 
words by seeing them. 

When I commenced teaching there was no regular school within six miles, so that 
scholars from seven plantations came, many walking four miles. In September a 
school was opened at the Church, which took the scholars from three of the planta- 
tions, thus reducing my number from 153 to 78. e. h. p. 



St. Helena Island, May 16th, 1863. 

I have organized the district in a regular form, appointing a committee of one from 
each plantation. The duties of this committee will be to visit the school once a month, 
mark the progress of scholars, and act upon any subject that may be brought before 
them pertaining to the perpetuity and proper regulation of the school. Also, to see 
that all the children of a proper age within the district attend as fully as their labors 
in the field will allow. The parents of the children are much pleased with this 
arrangement, as it lies in a direct line of their present tendency to look after and man- 
age their own affairs. This is one of the best indications that I have met among them, 
and I hope it may be readily seen by others, and promptly encouraged. It is the first 
real evidence that they begin to feel the responsibilities of freemen, and will do more 
for them than all other instrumentalities put together, in my opinion. They will be 
faithful to their trust, for they feel it a very greal^ honor to be trusted. Another ar- 
rangement being made is the appointment of another committee to oversee the poor, 
aged and infirm. They feel it a duty to try to sustain their own poor within the 
district, and although s all are poor, yet all who can work will cheerfully do something, 
and I do not think that there will be any suffering, at least for bread. 

My school is quite full — more than I can do justice to. The attendance, however, 
is not so uniform at this season, as many have to work part of the time in the field. 
The capacity is good in all, except two or three. I preach to a congregation that fills 
the school-room every Sunday — about 150. a. d. m. 



St. Helena Island, Mat 25th, 1863. 

I think I told you that I had organized the district by the appointment of a school 
committee. It is the best move I have yet made — it works beyond my highest hopes. 
They visit the school every Friday afternoon, and take the deepest interest in all that 
is connected with its progress. They will send you their own report monthly here- 
after, which I think will be pleasing and interesting. 

Last Friday the committee addressed the school, and I question if an address more 
full of good sense was ever given on any similar occasion ; and the effect upon the 
scholars was really marvellous. 

The other movement, which I think I mentioned — taking care of the poor and aged 
within the district — also works well. a. d. m. 



Coffin's Point, St. Helena Island, S. C, May 23d, 1863. 
I began each of my two schools January 5th, 1863. I have taught only Reading 
and Spelling, so far, and a little Writing, and a very little Arithmetic. My highest 
class at Pine Grove has read with me nearly through Hillard's Second Primary 
Reader ; they stop only at the strange words, or those of three or more syllables. Some 
of them read very smoothly. They can nearly all write all the letters, and half of 
them could write a readable letter, saying what they wanted to. They bring rne, of 
their own accord, on their slates, short sentences of their own framing, which I correct 
in grammar and spelling, and they profit by my corrections.^ My highest class at 
Fripp Foint is nearly as far advanced. The next classes in each school have read 
twice through Hillard's First Primary Reader, and 40 pages in the progressive First 
Reader ; they have to spell very few words as they read. The lower classes are at 
various points in the Progressive Primer, the younger ones spelling all the words as 
they read, which I am glad to have them do, to secure accuracy. As they go on, they 
begin themselves to read all the easy words, without spelling. I have divided the 



35 

schools into small classes, to make the teaching more individual. As they need careful 
watching less now than before, 1 shall soon fuse the classes together, and make time for 
teaching other things. 

The ages range from 8 to 18 and 24. As to capacity, which is not easily measured, 
I should say that a little more than half of them show themselves bright, perhaps two 
thirds. How far the bright ones can go, remains to be proved. Some of them seem 
bright enough for almost any thing, with good teaching. w. w. h. 



St. Helena Island, May 21st, 1863. 

My third class (including only those who come pretty regularly), numbers 38, with 
an average attendance of 30 scholars. Their ages are all the way from 8 to 16 ; but the 
average is about 10 years. Only 10 or 12 knew their letters when they first came to 
me; and but two or three could read at all. They have been reading out of Ells- 
worth's Progressive Primer, for a month, and they finished to-day the 43d page. 
The book contains 58 pages of reading. Six or seven read without spelling, and three 
or four have to stand by me while I point out the letters with a pencil. The remain- 
der read by spelling, without assistance of mine. I give them nearly two hours a day 
(in the morning) devoted entirely to reading and spelling. Some of them are the 
prettiest little things you ever saw, with solemn little faces, and eyes like stars. But 
this is a digression. 

My second class contains now but eight in regular attendance. I have been obliged 
to transfer six to the first class, because their field and house work made it impossible 
for them to come in the morning. 'Their ages are about 12. They have finished all 
but about 1C pages of Ellsworth's First Reader, which they began about the first week 
in April. They read without spelling. As this class is now so much smaller than the 
third, I think it best to give them but one hour, while the third has two. Consequent- 
ly, I have discontinued the Arithmetic and Writing. If I remember rightly, nearly 
all of these children knew their letters when they first came to me, though none of 
them could read. 

My first class now come at four in the afternoon. It numbers 21, with an average 
attendance of about 14. The youngest is a boy of 12 years, and the oldest is a woman 
of 30. The average age is, I think, 15. They will read, this afternoon, Lesson V. of 
Ellsworth's Second Reader. They have previously read Tower's Primer twice, and 
Ellsworth's First Reader twice. All of them, I think, knew their letters when 
they first came to me, and most of them could read from a Primer, by spelling. Some 
four or five read now quite fluently, out of the Second Reader, and with a pretty good 
delivery of the sense ; but most of them still stumble a good deal over such words as 
«« devoured, partial, although, carried, stripped, anxious, scattered," &c. In Arithme- 
tic, they are learning the Multiplication Table, and can tell, from the card, the first 
three columns. They know, by sight, the numbers as far as 100 when I write them on 
the board, and show, I think, a marvellous quickness at it. 

This first class of mine are real jewels. I should like to have you see them. The 
girls are very particular about their dress. They come in their Sunday clothes, and 
look as trim and as pretty as if they were not black. When the girls of the second 
class were first transferred to the first, they came in looking rather dingy ; but when 
they saw how very aristocratic the others looked, they were aghast ; and the next day 
they appeared in great style. 

I am unable to discover any difference in ability, between the blacks and mulattoes ; 
although perhaps it would be interesting to build up a theory on the subject. 

Among the most desirable things in this department, at present, would be a large 
quantity of good Primers and First Readers, for distribution among the grown people 
and others who cannot come to school. They might be miscellaneous. I have given 
out a great many , but they have generally been of an inferior character. A quantity 
of very simple story-books, for the advanced classes, would also be of great value. 
They might be second-hand. Perhaps the Rollo Books might do, but I fancy they 
would be a little difficult. I do not want mere infant story-books. 

a. s. 



Cra.ney Island, Va., March 16th, 1863. 
We are daily more and more interested in our eager learners. Their strides amaze 
me ! In writing, they run, in one day, from little a to their full names. I let pot- 
hooks go, and carry them right through the alphabet. At night I set copy, give the 



36 

slatesto some children, hand my own pencils and paper to other children, and the 
morning brings no remissness to light. 

Our instruction is necessarily mostly oral, as much time would be lost if we trained 
our pupils singly. The little things give us almost undivided attention, and are much 
stimulated by recitations in concert. As with other children, zeal often goes before 
knowledge. 

Dr. Brown will soon have thirty farms under his care. My sister and I design 
opening, in a few weeks, a school for the children upon two of the farms. 

i. c. 



Boston, June 12th, 1863. 
Perhaps the story of Limus may be interesting as an instance of negro capacity. He 
is a black Yankee. Without a drop of white blood in him, he has the energy and cute- 
ness and big eye for his own advantage of a born New Englander. He is not very 
moral or scrupulous, and the church-members will tell you " not yet," with a smile, if 
you ask whether he belongs to them. But he leads them all in enterprise, and his 
ambition and consequent prosperity make his example a very useful one on the planta- 
tion. Half the men on the Island fenced in gardens last autumn, behind their houses, 
in which they now raise vegetables for themselves and the Hilton Head markets. 
Limus in his half acre has quite a little farmyard besides. With poultry-houses, pig- 
pens and corn-houses, the array is very imposing. He has even a stable, for he made 
out some title to a horse, which was allowed ; and then he begged a pair of wheels, 
and makes a cart for his work ; and not to leave the luxuries behind, he next rigs up 
a kind of sulky and bows to the white men from his carriage. As he keeps his table 
in corresponding style— for he buys more sugar of me than any other two families — 
of course the establishment is rather expensive. So to provide the means, he has 
three permanent irons in the fire— his cotton, his Hilton-Head express, and his- 
seine. Before the fishing season commenced, a pack of dogs for deer-hunting took the 
place of the net. While other families "carry" from three to six or seven acres of cot- 
ton, Limus says he must have fourteen. To help his wife and daughters keep this in 
good order, he went over to the rendezvous for refugees, and imported a family to the 
plantation, the man of which he hired at $8 a month. His land is in a separate field,. 
and I let him take care of it very much like a distinct "plantation. With a large boat 
which he owns, he usually makes weekly trips to Hilton Head, twenty miles distant, 
carrying passengers, produce and fish. These last he takes in an immense seine — an 
abandoned chattel — for the use of which he pays Government by furnishing General 
Hunter and Staff with the finer specimens, and then has ten to twenty bushels for sale. 
Apparently he is either dissatisfied with this arrangement or means to" extend his ope- 
rations, for he asks me to bring him another seine for which I am to pay $70. 1 pre- 
sume his savings, since "the guns fired at Bay Point" — which is the native record of 
the capture of the islands — amount to four or five hundred dollars. He is all ready to 
buy land, and I expect to see him in ten years a tolerably rich man. Limus has, it is 
true, but few equals on the islands, and yet there are many who follow not far behind 
him. 

The amount of cotton raised is but a slight indication of the industry or prosperity 
of the people. Very few families confine themselves wholly to the plantations. Almost 
every one has a son, husband or father at the camps, so that currents from without 
keep the negro quarters constantly astir ; and every old woman must have her venture 
of a half dozen of eggs when the boat goes down. The more enterprising and intelli- 
gent naturally shoot ahead ; but the general aspect also, despite a thousand blemishes, 
is that of minds awakening, ambition rising, activity circulating from one to another. 
The breeze of morning has come, and the night fog is moving and breaking. Obsta- 
cles and discouragements are very numerous, but they are often local, and in many 
other cases the remedy is in sight, though sadly out of reach. Gen. Saxton and (Japt. 
Hooper arc invaluable. 

The sale of estates has been most fruitful of good results. In every case which has 
yet come to my knowledge, the purchasers have offered better prices, for labor than the 
Government, and the industry, prosperity and content of the people have changed in 
proportion. I think on the Government plantations less will be done this year than 
last; on the purchased plantations, far more. The year's experience will also be useful 
by offering a comparison between methods of employment. Almost every proprietor 
seems to have adopted his own system. Some increase the Government wages for a 
day's work -, others work in shares with their people, paying little or no wages ; others 



37 

keep the Government scale of prices, but distribute in addition monthly supplies pro- 
portioned to the amoont of work done. A still greater advantage is that of prompt pay- 
ment. Perhaps the chief obstacle with which the superintendents have contended, is 
the long delay that has throughout the year attended the Government payments. 

W. C. G. 



Boston, June 15th, 18G3. 

I have just closed my connection with Gen. Saxton's corps at Port Iloyal, not from 
lack of interest, but because I was satisfied that I could accomplish more in the same 
work by independent action. 

The crop of 1862 has just been sent to market, being about 70,000 lbs. of ginned 
Sea-Island cotton. Though but a trifle in itself, it is interesting from the mere fact that 
it was produced by the voluntary efforts of a community of freedmen, surrounded by 
the influences of camps, and led to all kinds of employment outside their plantations, 
by catering to the wants of the United States service in many useful ways. When we 
look to the discouraging circumstances under which this crop was planted and grown, 
we can only wonder how we succeeded in getting anything from it. We were not 
authorized by Government to offer any definite wages for labor till after the ordinary 
planting season was over. We did not enter upon our work till two months after the 
usual time for beginning. Even after the sum of one dollar per acre was paid for 
planting, no further authority was given us to offer definite pay for the cultivation till 
after the hoeing season was over, though they were offered good wages on every side to 
cook for officers in camp, to load and unload vessels, build docks, handle ammunition 
and commissary stores, and to minister in a hundred ways to the wants of the military 
department. Add to this the fact that in May, 1862, when the young crops all needed 
attention, every man able to carry a musket was kept in camp from three to six months, • 
and we need not have been surprised if the crops had been entirely abandoned. 

Our plan of organization in agriculture is so essentially different from the ordinary 
method of employing rude labor, that a few words in explanation may not be out of 
place. 

On taking possession of the Sea Islands, we found the district entirely destitute of 
white men. The blacks who had been acting as foremen under the white overseers and 
masters, were not, as a general thing, elevated above the mass by peculiar intelligence 
or power of control. As soon as the artificial element of force was removed by the 
masters and overseers running away, these black foremen dropped back to the level 
from which they had been temporarily raised, and ceased to have any useful authority 
over the action of the masses. They continued to hold the key of the plantation build- 
ings, and to deal out the weekly rations of corn from the granaries left by their masters, by 
common consent ; but whenever attempts were made by its to reinstate them in author- 
ity in the management of crops, it generally met with signal failure. They were unable to 
read and write, and could therefore keep no record of the amount of work clone by 
individual laborers. I was placed on a plantation where there were over a hundred 
working hands, and found it quite out of the question to enforce an3 r regularity as to 
working hours or the amount of work done in a day. In the absence of the material 
from which to make intelligent and reliable foremen, it was thought best to throw each 
family on its own responsibility, assigning to each a definite portion of land, and allow- 
ing them to choose their own time and manner of working it. We obliged them to 
look to this land for provisions, and assigned to them in addition such amounts of cot- 
ton land as they wished, paying them per acre for the planting and hoeing, and per 
pound for picking it. The details of the management of the crops were familiar to 
every laborer ; and this method, though rendering it difficult to avail ourselves of 
improved methods of culture which might be suggested from time to time, had the 
advantage of inspiring the laborers with a degree of self-reliance and enterprise, the first 
step towards manliness, and secured us against useless and expensive experiments, into 
which inexperienced agriculturists are too apt to be led. 

The adoption of General Order No. 12, by Gen. Saxton, Dec 20th, 1862, put the 
whole department on a definite footing in regard to this matter of organization, and a 
resonable crop would be the result this year, if the men had been paid promptly for 
their labor. 

It may be of interest to you to look at a statement of the costs and products of the 
small district of which I had charge last summer. The result was peculiarly favorable 
as compared with my neighbors, partly from the fact that it was remote from camp, and 
that the " gang " system was earlier abandoned there than in other districts, and the 
lands assigned to separate families earlier in the summer. Moreover, I was allowed to 



38 



keep up the interest in the crops by advancing private funds to the payment of plan- 
tation pay-rolls, and thus avoided the ruinous delays which were incurred elsewhere. 

Population of District, including three plantations : 

Working hands, • . 203 

Children under 12 years, 185 

Old and disabled, 24 



412 



Acres under Cultivation . 



Cotton, 185.12 

Com, • . . . . 292.02 

Potatoes, 97.39 

Fodder 40.61 

Miscellaneous 15.00 



630.14 



Expended in pay rolls $1,886.61 

Clothing given away, 50.00 

Clothing given in pay't for labor, 104.63 
Provisions, " " " 395.05 

Tools and use of mules, 350.00 

Superintendence, 250.00 



Total expenses, 



3,035.29 



Product. 

6,490 lbs. ginned Cotton, at $1,. . .$6,400. 

226 bush, surplus Corn, 226. 

150 bush, surplus Potatoes, 75. 



Total product, 



,701. 



In conclusion, I would say that I have been agreeably surprised by the amount of 
enterprise and industry displayed by these people under the peculiar circumstances 
which have surrounded them. I have found them not only ready, but eager to enter 
into competition with each other in the struggle for distinction in industry, whenever 
and wherever reasonable incentives have been placed before them. The amount of 
labor required by the military department and necessarily diverted from agriculture, 
the natural tendency to adopt desultory habits among a people who have just escaped 
from a life-long restraint, and, more than all, the conscription into the ranks of the U. 
S. Army, have prevented, thus far, a large force from being concentrated upon agricul- 
ture. The same causes will continue to operate in a degree for some years to come. Yet 
I doubt not that the stimulus of free labor will in a few years bring up the agricultural 
product to the former standard, and soon surpass it, when the ordinary laws of trade 
and the competition of private enterprise shall be relieved from the restraints of martial 
law and the needs of an all-absorbing war. 

In regard to the ability of negroes to provide for their wants by purchase, there 
cannot be the slightest doubt. I have sold upon a limited district, during the past year, 
i worth of dry goods and provisions, household furniture and other neces- 



saries, by which these people have been enabled to enjoy many articles of domestic com- 
fort to which they were before strangers, and to cultivate the many wants of civilized 
life by means of which their industry and enterprise will be encouraged as well as 
rewarded. e. s. p. 



,ii!£ll ARY 0F CONGRESS 



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